Paediatric care is in for a major boost with news that a long-awaited planning application for a new national children's hospital for Dublin are about to be submitted.

The proposal is for the facility to be built on the existing Mater Hospital site in central Dublin with plans due to be lodged in mid August.

The development team behind the new hospital confirmed that it was pushing forward with the project and a spokesman for the National Paediatric Hospital Board said a detailed planning application for the project would be lodged in the week beginning August 16th.

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At that time more detailed information on the plans would be provided, a statement said.

The Department of Health said the project was "advancing to schedule" under the direction of the hospital board.

A detailed design brief had been finalised and the board was preparing to submit planning documents.

In July, the Daíl Government included the proposed hospital in a list of priority projects that they insisted would go ahead, but dropped other healthcare projects. Construction is due to begin next year with the completion date is 2014.

The original budget for the hospital was €750 million but it is now expected to cost less, due to the recession driving down contractors' bids.

(BMcC/GK)